KOKBILLS

69 Games...5 INT's...19 Passes Defended combined while playing at both Safety Positions...For the one-millionth time Folks...And this goes for every Bills Fan who keeps saying it...Donte Whitner IS NOT A GOOD PLAYER...He may be average or a little better than average at SOME things...He may get better with a better D-Line...He may someday be a good Player...But up to this point in his career he has not been anywhere near consistent enough in all aspects of Safety play to be considered a good Player...There's no way...A good Player makes his Defense better purely by being on the field...The difference and the gap between Whitner and Troy Polamalu, Adrian Wilson, LaRon Landry, Chris Hope, and Dwan Landry is substantial...He's not as good as those Players period...End of story...But even SS's like Gerald Sensabaugh, Atari Bigby, and Paul Oliver have as much if not more impact on their Defenses than Whitner has had in Buffalo... The next problem IS the money, and it's a HUGE Problem...Whitner's Rookie Contract was for an average of almost $6 million per year...For what he gives the Defense he's going to have to agree to a MAJOR Pay Cut...And I doubt that is going to happen in Buffalo...There are plenty of UFA Safeties who will take less than $6 million per year...And if you want to spend $6 million per year at SS, which is stupid anyway unless you get a great Player, why not get a Player like Michael Huff who's play seems to be on the rise not the decline? The Bills can get similar play from George Wilson at SS, with better Cover and Ball skills for half of what Whitner is going to want...Re-signing Whitner creates a logjam...The Bills are not going to re-sign him and sit him...Meanwhile other Players can't get on the Field... I just don't think it's wise to even consider bringing Whitner back...It's a bad fit at this point and both sides need to part ways...Whitner is going to want more than he's worth from The Bills out of pride, and if The Bills make it clear they want him back it's hard to blame Whitner for wanting a raise...He's not worth anywhere close to $6 million per year...Just let him go...

Hansen was a HUGE part of those Bills Teams and is definitely deserving...But I agree Biscuit should go up first...In fact that was the 1st thing I though of when I heard it was Hansen this year...What about Bennett?

What? Is he or is he not already the greatest NT in Buffalo Bills history? I mean...I know Big Teddy was OK...But Jumping Jasper this Kid is a HOF LOCK!!!

Well..I think the thing that they are missing is, when you have as many holes as The Bills do, you can't fix everything in one Off Season...The Bills stuck to their Board and their Scouting and decided that the QB's they wanted were all gone, so it was time to fix The Defense...I'm not sure how much more they could have done in Rounds 1-3 with only one pick per Round...But what also needs to be considered is the general disregard for The Bills Scouting Staff and the decision makers at OBD...It's been years of REAL bad Drafting and REAL bad decisions...No one in the National Media has faith , and truthfully for good reason...I joked before the Draft that I had no idea how good a QB Blaine Gabbert would be for The Bills...What I did know is if The Bills passed on him he would go on to be the next Montana...It's just the way things have gone in Buffalo over the past 10 years or so... If you have a Need at QB, even if it's not as much of a Need as say, Tennessee or Minnesota...It's ALWAYS going to be considered the #1 Need by default...It's a QB's League and everyone knows it...While Fitz had some very good Games in 2010 he had a few stinkers in there as well, and his Career numbers are still WAY off what you would expect from a Franchise QB...So I'm not surprised at all that these Draft Guys give The Bills an average Grade for not Drafting a QB...Especially at #34 Overall...The true test will be in how well this young Defense plays in 2011...Because if they even move to average against the Run they will win 6-8 Games...And if that's the case most of these Draft Grades will be incorrect...But if the D still struggles and Fitz backslides then I can understand their line of thinking...They have no faith in The Bills Organization...They are assuming the worst...And unfortunately for good reason...

Maybe the Top 12 SS's...And IF he's in the Top 12 SS's he's #12... The facts are, once again, 69 Games, 5 INT's and 19 Passes Defended...He is no where near a very good player...There is a bit of removal between Whitner's play and a good player let alone very good...

Whatever...Morons? Seriously? 69 Games, 5 INT's and 19 Passes defended at the S Position... That's almost impossible... You go ahead and defend the guy while hiding behind a fantasy bunch of NFL execs...There's not as many as you think who love Donte anyway...Not saying there's not some, but it's not some great majority either...My judgement of Donte is 100% based on his play on the field...I could care less about the off-the-field stuff...He's not good enough and has not been from day #1...He got more than a fair shake from everyone here...He's just not that good...Not saying he's a bad guy or a bad teammate...He's just not that good on the field and makes almost no difference when he's out there...

You just paid the Buffalo Fan base a HUGE compliment when it comes to talent evaluation because on this one I can promise you we are right...

Exactly...He's gone Folks...Buh Bye Lil Donte...

:lol: :lol: :lol:

I seriously doubt that will happen, especially now that the Defense looks to be improved vs. The Run...I don't expect a Playoff Season either...But if the Bills improve on Defense they will win 5-6 Games easy in 2011...Because...and I realize no one really remembers this...The Bills actually have a bit of a Home Field Advantage with a decent Defense...So in a way, the Dareus/Williams/Sheppard additions, along with Troupe/Carrington/Moats being a year better, will almost assure The Bills have no chance at Andrew Luck in 2012...Or at least that's the way I see it...

I'll give that thought an a-freaking-men... But I would change it to a BIG pay cut...

I know it's just semantics, but he clearly stated they wanted Florence back and would be trying to sign him...He did not say that at all about Donte and he could have...But he did not...Then he added in he did not think Whitner wanted to be here...If he was looking for Whitner to step up and say he wanted to stay in Buffalo why no leave the door open a crack...Why not say "We would like Donte back at our price, but we're not sure he wants to be here..." Or something like that...Instead he was pretty cut and dry directly after clearly stating they wanted Florence back...I don't think he was sending any messages...I think they've moved on...And furthermore I think they'll look to Sign a Vet UFA SS...Probably one who does want to be in Buffalo...

I listened to the Interview...It did not sound to me like Nix was throwing any messages out at all...They asked about Florance and he was crystal clear he wanted Drayton back and thet Drayton want to be in Buffalo...He said The Bills will definitely try to sign DF...Then his voice trailed off when he made the Whitner quote...Sounded pretty cut and dry to me...He could have said they want Donte back just like he did with Florance...He did not say that...AND he also said he thinks Whitner does not want to be here and probably wont. When you look at the comparison between the Florance and the Whitner comments there is a stark contrast...So... Well I for one can promise you 1000% that you will NEVER here me criticizing The Bills for allowing Whitner to go...EVER!

I do have a question for those who continue to say "Donte is a good Football Player." How exactly is a SS a good Football Player when he's an obvious liability in Pass Coverage, takes bad angles, misses Tackles, etc?...Since Donte has been in Buffalo have The Bills been able to cover a TE? I know it's just a matter of words...But he's not a good NFL Strong Safety...Maybe he's average or a little better than average...But a good Football Player would make his Defense better simply by being on the field...He would not be a liability in coverage as a DB...A good Player might not lead the league in INT's or Passes Defended...But he would certainly be in the middle area for his Position... 5 Seasons...69 Games...5 INT's...19 Passes Defended at the SS Position...That's .275 Passes Defended per Game!!! Good? So Donte is a good Player? Why because he has a slew of tackles 10 yards past the line of scrimmage? He's not a good Football Player...He's an average Football Player who can be a liability at a HUGE part of his Position...

Right well, if you're looking for an excuse I want him gone because he's just not very good...He takes poor angles, misses WAY too many tackles, can't cover a TE to save his life, is constantly late to react, wants Top 5 Safety money...There are PLENTY of on-the-field reasons for not wanting Whitner around...Add the off-the-field stuff and I'll line up to hold the door open for the guy... Buh bye...

Saunders is actually a really interesting story...He was suspended for lying twice to the NCAA about two trips he took with his best friend, no other than UNC DT Marvin Austin who was at the center of all the suspensions at North Carolina...Saunders did tell the whole truth the third time around and claims he did nothing wrong, that he paid for both trips himself, but was lying to the NCAA to protect his friends...He did not try to make excuses...But... I love this quote I got from The NFLDRAFTSCOUT.com..."I panicked." Saunders said at the Combine. "There's no excuse for lying. I wasn't truthful and forthcoming. I did hold back on information in the first two interviews. The third time I laid everything out on the table. It felt like they were investigating a murder. It was in the middle of the summer, they put me in a hot room at the Carolina Inn and stuck two tape recorders in front of me for two hours." Anyway, Saunders also broke a bone in his foot and was unable to run at the Combine...Still injured he gutted it out and ran a 4.93 at the SC Pro Day...I'm sure the combination of off-the-field stuff and the injury led to him not being Drafted...Someone will give him a chance...He's got a lot of upside and just based on the quotes I read seems to be a Kid that understands he did wrong...Who knows..he was once considered a big time TE Prospect...

Austin is a very good 4-3 DT Prospect but he's not anywhere near Dareus as a Prospect...It's really not close...Austin is pretty much strictly a One-Gap, up-the-field DT...Dareus can play anywhere, along any front...Plus...Austin plays a bit out-of-control at times and lacks Dareus' discipline...Austin is described by some as the "ring-leader" of the little cheating operation that cost UNC half their Roster last year...And when he was Interviewed at The Combine several Teams let it leak out that he was a selfish Kid who refused to take responsibility for his part in the whole thing, and that he was quick to point the finger back at his University... Not trying to nitpick you here...Just saying...

Once again...Buh Bye Lil' Donte...

Not necessarily when QB is a Need and you think one of the QB's in a Franchise guy...But I'm a Gabbert Fan, and even I would not have taken Gabbert over Dareus...

Gailey says their going to play him at NT...

Well only if you consider The Grand Canyon a hole... You're 100% correct...

Look...I've been about as vocal as anyone around here about getting a Franchise QB...But once it was clear that Dareus was going to fall to the Bills at #3 they really only had 2 choices...Draft Dareus, or Trade back a bit for Gabbert...There was no way The Bills were going to take Gabbert over Dareus no matter how bad they need a Franchise QB...I'm about as big a Gabbert supporter as there is around here...But he a project QB (granted with huge upside) regardless, and Dareus is a ready-to-destroy-monster in an area of massive Need for The Bills...Any idiot who would dock the Bills a notch for taking Dareus over a QB at #3 has no business Grading any Draft... I think you could have made the argument for QB better had it been Miller at #3...But with Dareus, no way...At least not yet...If Gabbert becomes a Top 10 QB in 3 years then maybe...But right now, no way...It's an A+ Draft Pick for The Bills all the way right now...

Look...The name of the thread is "We can win with Fitz..." That's what the discussion was about...The Thread was not about the Draft at all...It was about Fitz...If this whole Message Board thing is confusing to you I'm sure we can get someone to explain it to you... What I'm trying to say, in a completely smart ass way (my apologies), is your question has nothing to do with My Post...The Draft was awesome...I'm thrilled...I think we still need a QB...I don't think we can win consistently with Fitz at QB...I hope I'm wrong...Any questions?

WOW!!! That is an amazing Picture!!! Good grief that's one big dude pulling...If you're a DB and you see that coming!!!!